Furnace for heating- soldering-irons



l. WILSON.

' So|dering lron- Heater. 110. 14,892. 121119111811 May 13, 1856.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES WILSON,

OF BRANDYWINE, DELAWARE.

FURNACE FOR HEATING- SOLDERING-IRONS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 14,892, dated May 13, 1856.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WILSON, of Brandywine, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnaces for Heating Solder-Irons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification.

The improvement consists in the employment of a furnace for heating solder irons, so constructed that I can use anthracite or bituminous coal, as a substitute for charcoal, now employed. The saving effected is a matter of importance, when it is considered how numerous are the persons employed in the business of tin working.

By my invention there are several direct advantages secured: 1st, I heat the solderirons in a more cleanly manner than it is possible to do, even in a charcoal fire; 2d, I heat them to the requisite degree with more assurance of their being `in working order; 3d, I preserve the copper bolt or bit, as well as the tinned portion of it, by protecting it from the fumes or gases of the fuel, thus rendering them more durable, by preventing the loss of metal consequent to over heating by which the tin is oxidized; 4th, economy, not only in substitution of a cheap fuel for an expensive one, but being able to cont-rol the. draft of air to these coals; or should charcoal itself be employed, its undue consumption or waste may be prevented, without interfering with the introduction, or withdrawal of t-he tools; in the ordinary fire pot the draft and opening for the tools being the same, there is a loss from the want of means of controlling the burning of the fuel, besides the evil of frequent poking of the fire in thrusting in the irons among the pieces of fuel; 5th, the furnace itself answers the purpose of heating the shop in winter, and dispenses with the attention requisite in keeping up a supply of fuel,

as in the ordinary fire pot, while safety in using hard coal is not to be overlooked.

To enable others skilled in the art, to construct and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it as follows. A represents a fire pot or furnace, of cast or wrought iron;

B, a grate for supplying the fuel. y

C is a dished base, surrounded with a trough for holding water, as a security against re.

D is the smoke pipe.

E E represent two of a series of cells, of a cylindrical form, having their inner ends closed, and their outer ends open. In the sides of the pot A are circular openings in which the cells E E are inserted, horizontally. They are so situated as to be surrounded with the fuel, necessary to bring them to a proper heat for warming the copper bits or solder-irons F, introduced in said cells.

G' is a cover, which may be suspended over the upper part of A to prevent radiation of heat if necessary. It has a pipe Gr which may communicate with a flue. When the solder-irons are all withdrawn from the cells, the cover can be lowered, and rest on the base of the furnace, as shown in red lines. The cells E being removable from the furnace and cost but a trifle, may be renewed when burned out, or if desirable to reduce their number, caps or stoppers may be placed over the holes from which they have been withdrawn.

This improvement will render the use of anthracite, as a substitute for charcoal universal as it obviates all the objections arising from sulfurous gases that have hitherto prevented its substitution.

To use the furnace place the fuel, so as to surround or cover the cells, and heat them on all sides to a proper degree of heat, say cherry red. The solder-iron may then be introduced, and heated in half the time in those cells, that could be done in a charcoal fire, and in giving them the requisite heat, it is only necessary to draw them more or less from the cell. After the cells are thoroughly heated, the fire in the pot may be controlled by-dampers of the furnace, as in an ordinary stove.

Having described the nature and advantages of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- Constructing a furnace and providing it with any desirable number of cells E E substantially in the manner described for the purpose of heating solder-irons with anthracite or other coal in the manner set forth in the foregoing specification.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name before two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES WILSON. 

